Turkey blocks YouTube after banning Twitter

Turkey on Thursday blocked video-sharing website YouTube a week after blocking access to Twitter, Both were used to spread audio recordings allegedly implicating the prime minister in corruption

Turkey on Thursday blocked video-sharing website YouTube a week after blocking access to Twitter, Both were used to spread audio recordings allegedly implicating the prime minister in corruption (OZAN KOSE / AFP/Getty Images)

Salvador RodriguezThis post has been updated, as indicated below.

After first blocking Twitter, Turkey has now also blocked access to YouTube, according to numerous reports.

The action comes after a recording allegedly containing audio from a meeting among many top Turkish officials was leaked onto the Google-owned service. In the recording, the officials can allegedly be heard discussing possible military actions in Syria.

The blocking of YouTube comes a week after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan used a court order to ban Twitter in the country.

That ban was prompted by tweets that were posted containing links to other audio recordings that appeared to incriminate Erdogan in corruption leading up to local Turkish elections.

An Ankara court issued a temporary injunction ordering Turkey's telecommunications authority to restore access to Twitter, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. It was not clear when -- or whether -- the order would be followed.

The Twitter ban has only had moderate success anyway as Turkish users have turned to virtual-private networks, or VPNs, and other solutions to get around the block.

[Update 9:47 a.m. PDT March 27: "We're seeing reports that some users are not able to access YouTube in Turkey," a Google spokeswoman said in a statement. "There is no technical issue on our side and we’re looking into the situation."]